1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to an improved bracket design for a computer system and, in particular, to an improved system, method, and apparatus for configuring an electronics card support bracket to adaptably conform to more than one computer system profile.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most computer systems are equipped to be reconfigured with different electronic components should the need arise. For example, some computer systems may be configured with either an accelerated graphics port (AGP) or a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) card solution. AGP provides enhanced video performance by moving video off of the PCI bus and allowing the video subsystem to make use of standard system memory. The AGP interface is a platform bus specification that enables high performance graphics capabilities. By moving graphics off of the PCI bus, AGP gives that bus more bandwidth for other I/O functions such as audio and communication access. AGP neither replaces nor diminishes the necessity of PCI in the system, and is physically, logically, and electrically independent of the PCI bus. AGP is not a bus because it is not shared by anything but the graphics controller. It is intended for the exclusive use of visual display devices such that other I/O devices remain on the PCI bus.
Reconfiguring a computer system with different electronic components such as AGP/PCI sometimes requires different mechanical structures in order to share compatibility and support the system change. In the case of the AGP and PCI card solutions, there are full height and low profile configurations of each adapter. A different support bracket is required for each type of card (full height or low profile). These brackets differ in size and form factor and therefore require two different versions of the card to be supplied. This creates two part numbers for every one card solution since parts that are otherwise identical cannot be changed “on the fly” in stage one manufacturing. Although this design is workable, an improved system and method that eliminates the need to have different versions of the card would be desirable.